


The Right Way

by maddmaddworld



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-23
Updated: 2013-05-23
Packaged: 2017-12-12 18:09:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/814475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maddmaddworld/pseuds/maddmaddworld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Katniss and Peeta make a visit to the new Hall of Justice. Post-Mockingjay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Right Way

“Are you ready?”

 

“Yes,” I sigh heavily and move toward the front door of our home, Katniss trailing behind me. My footsteps are heavy and reluctant, and Katniss must notice.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

I sigh, “I just don’t understand how there could be a problem with the licenses. I spent months making sure everything was ready, we open in three weeks, and now they make us go down there because there’s some sort of paperwork issue?”

 

I’m twenty days away from opening the brand new Mellark Bakery, and Katniss has informed me that we received a letter from the newly formed District 12 Government stating a problem with the building license. “Your presence is requested at the Hall of Justice at 2:00PM on September first.” Katniss called the bakery to read the letter to me yesterday while I was installing brand new display cases. They should have told me this _before_ the building construction was complete.

 

Katniss shrugs as we walk through our front door, turning back to lock it behind us. “Peeta, it’s gonna be okay. I’m sure it’s just something silly. With all the new records and the changes to the governing of the districts, they probably don’t have all their ducks in a row just yet.”

 

I narrow my eyes at her. “You are being uncharacteristically positive about this whole situation.”

 

“You are being uncharacteristically whiney and negative about this whole situation.”

 

I raise my eyebrows and can’t stop the small smile that takes over my face. She’s probably right. I’m overreacting. I grab her hand and lace our fingers together as we make our way to the newly rebuilt Hall of Justice.

 

When we arrive, Katniss pulls me through the double doors and to the left. “It’s this way,” she states.

 

“No, Katniss. The licensing office is on the other side of the building,” I respond, pulling our clasped hands in the other direction. I don’t have time for this. Katniss is usually so good with directions.

 

She huffs and pulls our hands back to the left. “The letter we got said to go _this_ way. Just trust me.”

 

I know she’s mistaken, but I’m not looking for a fight right now. I can feel a migraine setting in, which could lead to an episode if I can’t control my emotions. I breathe heavily through my nose and let her drag me down the wrong hallway.

 

She stops in front of a door marked HONORABLE JUDGE CULVER.

 

I let out a breath. Maybe now she’ll listen to reason. “See? Wrong spot. It’s the other way.”

 

Katniss puts her finger to her chin. “Oh. Hmm. Okay. Well, since we’re here, we should go in and ask where it is.”

 

She’s acting funny. There’s something else going on here, and she’s rapidly losing the ability to cover her lie gracefully. “I KNOW where it is, Katniss, I’ve been in this building a hundred times,” I respond. My head is pounding and my heart rate is beginning to accelerate. If I can’t find a way to calm myself, I’ll have a much bigger problem on my hands than whether or not we’re in the right office.

 

Katniss lets out a groan and pulls her hand down over her face in frustration. “Just humor me, alright?”

 

She opens the judge’s door without knocking. I cringe—has she lost all sense of propriety?—but I stop short when I see Haymitch standing in the corner of the room. A man, Judge Culver, I assume, stands behind a small podium in the cramped space. He smiles at Katniss when we walk in and reaches his hand out to shake hers. She releases my hand to take his.

 

“Ms. Everdeen, good to see you again.”

 

Haymitch steps forward from the corner and nods in our direction, “’Bout time, Sweetheart.”

 

“He was being difficult,” Katniss replies, rolling her eyes in my direction. I glare at her. _What IS this?_

 

I’m rapidly losing my patience. I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. I can feel my heart rate increasing with every beat. _Not now_ , I think. The last thing I need is to have an episode in the middle of this cramped little room in front of a complete stranger. “What’s going on?”

 

Katniss turns to me and grabs both my hands in hers. “I love you, Peeta Mellark.”

 

 _Now is not the time for random displays of affection_ , I think, despite the way my heart leaps at her words. “I-I love you, too. Please tell me what’s going on.” My eyesight is going blurry. I grasp her hands tightly in mine. _Breathe in, breathe out. Trust Katniss._

 

Haymitch guffaws, “You haven’t figured it out yet? Boy, you aren’t usually this dumb.” Something about Haymitch’s blunt words brings me back to earth. I take a deep breath and look into Katniss’ eyes. She’s eyeing me intensely; happiness and hope, and just a hint of apprehension in her stare.

 

Katniss swats her arm in Haymitch’s general direction, but never breaks eye contact with me. She pulls us to the front of the podium and then reaches up to caress my cheek. “Peeta, will you marry me?”

 

My mind goes blank. “I—what?”

 

Katniss’ eyes grow as large as saucers. She drops her hand from my face, opting to grab my forearm instead. She stammers, “…Marry me…if…um…,” The expression on my face must be that of complete confusion and horror because she loses all her confidence and tries to backtrack, “Never mind, this was a horrible idea, I—“

 

I cut her off. “Katniss, you brought me here to marry me?”

 

She drops her head to avert my gaze. “…Yes.”

 

My heart skyrockets into my throat. I pull her chin up so she’s forced to look me in the eye again. “Are you sure?”

 

She scowls at me and pulls her chin from my hand. “What do you mean _am I sure_? You know I love you, Peeta,” she grumbles. She takes a step back from me, mumbling something under her breath.

 

I can’t help but chuckle at her abrasiveness and grab for her hand before she can step too far away from me. She can’t really blame me for being confused, can she? “But…you never wanted this, marriage or—“

 

“I want you.”

 

I grab her around the waist and pull her close to me. “You have me.”

 

She averts her gaze from mine and whispers, “I want you to be my husband.”

 

My response is loud, and I squeak embarrassingly, “Really?”

 

She looks up at me and rolls her eyes. “YES. And this nice man has agreed to do this for us, given that we don’t take longer than 30 minutes because he has court at three o’clock. So, will you marry me or not?”

 

“Yes! Katniss—yes, yes, yes.” I kiss her, hard, and pull her as close to me as she can possibly be. This is a dream. It has to be. Katniss Everdeen is marrying me. Right here. Right now. I can feel the face-splitting smile on my cheeks.

 

She pulls away and gives me a soft, loving kiss on my temple before turning to the judge. “Okay, I think we’re ready now.”

 

Judge Culver smiles and takes his place behind the podium. “Great.”

 

“No sappy stuff. Just do it,” Katniss admonishes. Haymitch chuckles from behind us. She turns to shoot him a glare before taking my hand and facing us toward the small podium.

 

“Yes ma’am. We are gathered here today to join Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark in holy matrimony,” he turns to Haymitch, “As the only witness to this union, do you object?”

 

Haymitch rolls his eyes and pushes his hands out in a _go-on-then_ gesture, “Hell no, get the damn show on the road.”

 

“Okay,” he looks to Katniss first. “Do you, Katniss Everdeen, take Peeta Mellark to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better or worse, as long as you both shall live?”

 

Katniss looks at me and nods her head. “I do.”

 

“And do you, Peeta Mellark, take Katniss Everdeen to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better or worse, as long as you both shall live?”

 

I can’t stop the tears from streaming down my face. She reaches up to wipe them away. “Yes. Always. I do.” My heart is beating out of my chest. Katniss Everdeen is my wife. _My_ wife. My _wife_. This whole situation, this whole surprise, is so genuinely _Katniss_. When I woke up this morning, I never dreamed I’d end up married before dinner. I feel myself shaking and I’m grasping Katniss’ hands so hard she must be in pain, but I can’t let go.

 

“Then, by the power invested in me by District Twelve and the country of New Panem, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss.”

 

I pull Katniss as close as I can before attacking her lips with my own. She responds with equal fervor, and for a moment there is no one else in the world but the two of us. I snake my hand into her braid and she plays with the hairs on the nape of my neck while we share our first kiss as husband and wife.

 

Haymitch quickly reminds us that we are _not_ , in fact, the only two people in the world. “Hey—keep it clean, I don’t wanna see that.”

 

Katniss giggles against my lips before pulling away and leaning her head against my shoulder. I rub gentle circles on the small of her back. I can’t believe this is happening. Even Haymitch, for all his grumbling, has a twinkle in his eyes that may or may not be tears of joy. _He may even be sober_ , I think to myself.

 

Judge Culver smiles at us and places a handful of papers on a small table next to Haymitch. “Here is the marriage license, sign here and here,” the judge commands, pointing at the document. “Ms. Everdeen,” he continues, pointing to another stack of papers, “These are the papers you need to legally change your name.”

 

I pull away from her slightly to look her in the eyes. “You don’t have to do that.”

 

Katniss furrows her brow at me. “What? Change my name? I want to.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

She gives me a disgusted look. “You keep asking me that. Are YOU sure?”

 

I let out a small chuckle and pull her close again. “Yes. Yes, Katniss. Yes.”

 

She pulls out of my grasp to reach for the documents and a pen. “Okay, then. Besides, I like Katniss Mellark. It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” She leans down to sign our marriage license and the name change documents. I look over to Haymitch and smile, and then back to my new wife.

 

“I…yes. It’s perfect…Katniss, this is the most romantic thing you’ve ever done.”

 

“Well, we still have to do a toasting.”

 

I think my heart just exploded.

 

“But after that, that’s it. Don’t get used to this romantic crap.”

 

We both laugh. Haymitch snorts.  

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally supposed to be submitted for Day Six of Prompts in Panem R3, but I got lazy. And yes, okay, it was kind of inspired by an old episode of CSI:NY.


End file.
